Method for producing a composite rolling bearing

ABSTRACT

A method for producing a composite rolling bearing ( 1 ) having a bearing flange ( 3 ) and at least one rolling bearing ( 4, 5 ) held on the bearing flange ( 3 ) by an inner ring ( 6, 7 ). In order to be able to fix the inner ring ( 7 ) on the bearing flange ( 3 ) with axial preloading without expansion, the inner ring ( 7 ) is acted upon by a holding-down device ( 23 ) that radially holds down the inner ring ( 7 ) and is preloaded against the inner ring ( 7 ) by a regulated axial force (F), and, by way of an advancing cone ( 21 ) introduced radially on the inside axially into the bearing flange ( 3 ), material ( 11 ) present on the bearing flange ( 3 ) is displaced radially towards the outside into a recessed formation ( 15, 16 ) in the inner ring ( 7 ).

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/237,271,filed Feb. 5, 2014 which is a national phase application ofPCT/EP2012/062185 filed Jun. 25, 2012, which claims the benefit ofGerman Patent Application DE 10 2011 080 738.1, filed Aug. 10, 2011, allthree applications being hereby incorporated by reference herein.

A method for producing a composite rolling bearing having a bearingflange and at least one rolling bearing held on the bearing flange bymeans of an inner ring.

BACKGROUND

Composite rolling bearings of the type in question are used as wheelbearings in motor vehicles, for example, wherein the bearing flangeaccommodates at least one, preferably two, rolling bearings arrangedaxially adjacent to one another and having inner rings. In thisarrangement, the inner rings are mounted on the bearing flange under anaxial preload. DE 10 2008 064 155 A1 discloses a rotary forming methodfor producing a riveting collar on the bearing flange, in which ariveting collar is obtained from a flange part extending axially alongthe axis of rotation of the rolling bearings by forming the end faceradially. In this process, rollers of a feed cone, which are set at anangle relative to the axis of rotation, form the riveting collar.Compared with conventional riveting involving a rolling action, there isa risk, admittedly reduced but still present, that the adjacent innerring will be expanded. In the case of inner rings of sufficiently stabledesign, the overall height disadvantageously requires an increasedinstallation space. The radial forming entails poor control over theaxial preloading of the inner ring on the bearing flange. Moreover, thelarge angles of incidence of the rollers, in particular, lead torelatively high tool wear in the case of high forming forces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method forproducing a composite rolling bearing in which expansion of the innerring is avoided and the setting of the axial preload of the inner ringsor of the inner ring can be set precisely.

The present invention provides a method for producing a compositerolling bearing having a bearing flange and at least one rolling bearingheld on the bearing flange by means of an inner ring, wherein the innerring is acted upon by means of a holding-down means that radially holdsdown the inner ring and is preloaded against the inner ring by acontrolled axial force, and, by way of a feed cone introduced radiallyon the inside axially into the bearing flange, reserve material on thebearing flange is displaced radially outward into a recessed formationin the inner ring.

According to the method proposed, in contrast to the riveting method,material of the bearing flange is not reshaped radially outward but isdisplaced radially outward in order to produce an axial preload andaxial fixing of the single or outer inner ring closer to the end of thebearing flange, wherein the holding-down means stabilizes the inner ringradially toward the outside and can form an axial stop for the displacedmaterial. Here, an axial stop is formed for the inner ring, with theinner ring being axially preloaded by the holding-down means during thematerial displacement process by the latter being acted upon by acontrolled axial force. In this way, displacement or deformation of theinner ring is not possible. At the same time, the axial fixing of theinner ring is accomplished with a constant, adjustable preload.Stabilizing the inner ring by means of the holding-down means during theprocess enables the inner ring to be given smaller dimensions and,overall, enables the composite rolling bearing to be designed with asmaller installation space and a lower weight since these definitivevariables need no longer be designed according to the method butaccording to requirements during operation.

According to an advantageous method, the reserve material is displacedat least partially by the feed cone or by rollers mounted on the feedcone. During this process, the feed cone is rotated and displacedaxially with a predetermined feed, wherein the material overhangingradially inward relative to the inner circumference of the bearingflange is displaced radially outward, and a corresponding quantity ofmaterial is formed on the outer circumference of the bearing flange andis displaced into radially opposite recessed formations on the innerring. During this process, the holding-down means, like the bearingflange, is supported in such a way that it does not rotate.

In an advantageous embodiment, for example, a material overhang formedradially on the inside on one end of the bearing flange as reservematerial can be displaced into a chamfer formed radially on the insideas a recessed formation on one end of the inner ring. During thisprocess, the holding-down means, which is extended radially inward in acorresponding manner, can act as an end-located limiting wall for thedisplaced material, and the inner ring and the displaced material can beflush at the end. As an alternative, an annular collar of the bearingflange can be formed by setting back the wall provided on theholding-down means axially in a corresponding manner, said annularcollar being extended axially relative to the end of the inner ring.

The wall can furthermore be provided as a die, e.g. in the form of endtoothing, with the result that, given appropriate displacement ofmaterial in the end region of the bearing flange, end toothing is formedin the end of the bearing flange, resulting, in the case where thecomposite rolling bearing is designed as a wheel bearing with acorresponding profiling of a drive shaft, in joining of the bearingflange to the drive shaft for conjoint rotation, requiring only axialclamping of the composite assembly. As an alternative, end toothing ofthis kind can be introduced into the bearing flange in advance, in whichcase displacement of material is not envisaged in the region of the endof the bearing flange. As an alternative, the end toothing can beintroduced in advance and displacement of material on the end of thebearing flange can be envisaged if the end toothing is protected by acomplementarily shaped wall of the holding-down means.

As an alternative or in addition, a material overhang formed radiallytoward the inside can be provided as reserve material on the innercircumference of the bearing flange at an axial distance from the end ofthe latter, said material being displaced into a recessed formation atan axial distance from one end of the inner ring. The recessed formationcan be an annular groove or the like, for example.

In order to achieve advantageous centering of the holding-down means onthe inner ring and good removal thereof after the method has beencarried out, the holding-down means can be centered on a chamferprovided radially on the outside of the at least one inner ring, whereinthe holding-down means is of an appropriately conical design in thisregion.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the holding-down means can fitover the inner ring radially on the inside and radially on the outside.

The formation of the material overhangs of reserve material makes itpossible to keep the forming forces low. In this context, the formingforces can be modified through the forming angle of the rollers on thefeed cone. For example, the feed and slope of the rollers can be set inaccordance with a radial variation in an axial width of the reservematerial. In this case, the axes of rotation of the rollers can be 10°to 20° to the axis of rotation of the inner ring, wherein the rollerscan form on the inner circumference a recessed formation region whichslopes relative to the substantially cylindrical inner surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in greater detail by means of theillustrative embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 11, where:

FIG. 1 shows an unprocessed form of a composite rolling bearing inpartial section,

FIG. 2 shows the unprocessed form of FIG. 1 with the forming toolapplied, in partial section,

FIG. 3 shows the composite rolling bearing in the finished state inpartial section,

FIG. 4 shows a composite rolling bearing modified as compared with thecomposite rolling bearing in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the unprocessed form,having end toothing to be formed, in partial section,

FIG. 5 shows a partial section of the composite rolling bearing in FIG.4 in the finished state,

FIG. 6 shows an unprocessed form of a composite rolling bearing with endtoothing introduced even before the process of material displacement, inpartial section,

FIG. 7 shows an unprocessed form of a composite rolling bearing with theholding-down means fitted over the inner ring radially on the inside andoutside, in partial section,

FIG. 8 shows an unprocessed form of a composite rolling bearing with amaterial overhang stepped radially toward the outside from the end ofthe bearing flange, in partial section,

FIG. 9 shows an unprocessed form of a composite rolling bearing withmaterial overhangs formed relative to the axis of rotation of the innerring by steeply angled rollers of the feed cone, in partial section,

FIG. 10 shows an unprocessed form of a composite rolling bearing with awall of the holding-down means which is set back axially relative to anend of the inner ring, in partial section,

and

FIG. 11 shows a partial section of an unprocessed form of a compositerolling bearing having holding-down means centered conically on theinner ring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a partial section through the composite rolling bearing 1in unprocessed form arranged around the axis 2 of rotation. The bearingflange 3 accommodates two rolling bearings 4, 5, which are arrangedaxially adjacent to one another and the inner rings 6, 7 of which aremounted without play, by means of an interference fit, against the axialstop 9, on the flange part 8 arranged along and around the axis 2 ofrotation.

The reserve material 11 in the form of the material overhangs 12, 13 isextended out of the cylindrical surface 10 radially inward and in a ringover the circumference of the inner circumference of the bearing flange3. At the end 14 of the bearing flange 3, material overhang 12 has asubstantially wedge shaped cross section which widens radially in thedirection of the end 14. Material overhang 13 is at an axial distancefrom the end 14 in the direction of the axial stop 9.

Recessed formations 15, 16 complementary to the material overhangs 12,13 are provided in the inner ring 7, which are off-tool features or aremachined into the inner ring 7 subsequently. The ends 14, 17 of thebearing flange 3 and of the inner ring 7 are formed axially flush, withthe result that recessed formation 15 is formed as an outward-openingchamfer 18. Recessed formation 16 is designed as an annular groove 19.

FIG. 2 shows the unprocessed form of the composite rolling bearing 1with the roll-forming tool 20 (shown schematically) applied at thebeginning of the roll-forming process, said tool being formed by thefeed cone 21 with the rollers 22, such as forming rollers, mountedrotatably thereon, the holding-down means 23 and the correspondingbearing arrangements (not shown) for the composite rolling bearing 1,the feed cone 21 and the holding-down means 23 as well as driving andcontrol devices thereof.

At the beginning of the roll-forming process, the holding-down means 23is applied to the ends 14, 17 of the bearing flange 3 and of the innerring 7, with a selected axial force F, which is controlled during theroll-forming process, being input, thus enabling a predetermined preloadon the inner rings 6, 7 relative to the axial stop 9 of the bearingflange 3 to be set.

The holding-down means 23 fits around the outer circumference 24 of theinner ring 7 by means of the shoulder 25, which is extended axiallyrelative to the end 17 and which can be in the form of a ring or of aring segment, and thus fixes the inner ring 7 radially on the outercircumference 26 of the flange part 8, preventing the latter fromundergoing any radial expansion in the subsequent roll-forming process.

During the roll-forming process, the feed cone 21 with the rollers 22mounted thereon in an axially fixed manner which allows rotation aboutthe axis 27 of rotation is moved axially, as a result of which thereserve material in the form of the material overhangs 12, 13 is rolledradially inward as the rollers 22 rotate, beginning with materialoverhang 12.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the rolled-in material in the final state ofthe roll-forming process has displaced material 28, 28 a displacedmaterial from the flange part 8 into the recessed formations 15, 16 inthe finished composite rolling bearing 1. In this case, material fromthe flange part 8 is displaced into the recessed formations 15, 16, withthe result that, with a preload being applied to the holding-down means23, the inner rings 6, 7 are fixed axially on the bearing flange 3 witha constant preload against the axial stop 9.

After the roll-forming process, the surface 10 of the innercircumference of the bearing flange is substantially cylindrical, andthe feed cone 21 and the holding-down means 23 are moved back.

FIG. 4 shows a variant of a composite rolling bearing 1 a in unprocessedform with a roll-forming tool 20 a adapted thereto. Here, the inner ring7 a is extended axially relative to the flange part 8 a of the bearingflange 3 a. The material overhang 12 a is arranged at the end 14 a ofthe flange part 8 a, being extended radially inward. The inner ring 7 ahas a corresponding recessed formation 15 a. The holding-down means 23 ais designed as a die 30 in the form of axial toothing on its wall 29facing the end 14 a.

At the beginning of the roll-forming process, the holding-down means 23a is subjected to the axial force F, and the feed cone 21 a is movedaxially, rotating the rollers 22 a. As a result, the material overhang12 a is displaced radially outward, as a result of which displacedmaterial flows out of the flange part 8 a into the recessed formation 15a on the inner ring 7 a. During this process, end toothing is formed onthe end 14 a by the die 30.

FIG. 5 shows the finished composite rolling bearing 1 a of FIG. 4 withend toothing 31, which has been formed in the flange part 8 a inrelation to the ends 14 a and 17 a of the flange part 8 a and of theinner ring 7 a respectively and can form a connection for conjointrotation with another component, e.g. a drive shaft in the case of awheel bearing.

FIG. 6 shows another variant of a composite rolling bearing 1 b havingend toothing 31 a already provided before the roll-forming process.Consequently, only the material overhang 13 b at an axial distance fromthe end 14 b on the flange part 8 b of the bearing flange 3 b and acorrespondingly oppositely situated recessed formation 16 b on the innerring 7 b are provided.

FIG. 7 shows a variant in the form of the composite rolling bearing 1 c,over the inner ring 7 c of which the holding-down means 23 c fits fromboth sides, i.e. radially on the inside and radially on the outside.Here, the wall 29 c of the holding-down means 23 c is provided axiallywith the recess 32 opposite the end 17 c of the inner ring 7 c, with theresult that, after the displacement of the material overhang 12 c, therecessed formation 15 c is filled with displaced material in such a waythat the inner ring 7 c forms the overhang 33 axially relative to theflange part 8 c of the bearing flange 3 c.

FIG. 8 shows a variant in the form of the composite rolling bearing 1 din which the material overhangs 12 d, 13 d of the flange part 8 d of thebearing flange 3 d merge into one another in a stepped manner. Therecessed formations 15 d, 16 d are provided radially opposite in acomplementary manner on the inner ring 7 d.

Whereas the rollers 22 in the preceding figures displace the materialoverhangs radially outward substantially perpendicularly to the axis 2of rotation (FIG. 1), a variant of a roll-forming tool 20 d fordisplacing the material overhangs 12 d, 13 d of the flange part 8 d ofthe composite rolling bearing 1 d of FIG. 8 is shown in FIG. 9. The axes27 d of rotation ring 1 d of FIG. 8 is shown. The axes 27 d of rotationof the of the rollers 22 d accommodated in the feed cone 21 d have alarge angle α of inclination, e.g. between 15° and 25°, relative to theaxis 2 of rotation of the composite rolling bearing 1 d, leading to therollers 22 d displacing the material overhangs 12 d, 13 d obliquely, asa result of which the expenditure of force for displacement of materialis lower. In the final state of the roll-forming process, a displacementsurface inclined relative to the surface 10 d of the flange part 8 d isprovided, forming an undercut which can be used for other purposes andon which other components can be snapped or hooked.

FIG. 10 shows a variant in the form of a composite rolling bearing 1 ehaving ends 14 e, 17 e of the flange part 8 e of the bearing flange 3 eand of the inner ring 7 e, respectively, which are axially spaced apart,wherein the flange part 8 e is extended axially relative to the innerring 7 e. Accordingly, the holding-down means 23 e is provided with anaxially stepped wall 29 e to form the recessed formation 15 e and tosubject the inner ring 7 e to the axial force F.

FIG. 11 shows a variant in the form of the composite rolling bearing ifin which the inner ring has the centering chamfer 34 on the outercircumference 24 f thereof for centering the holding-down means 23 f.Accordingly, the holding-down means has the centering cone 35.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 composite rolling bearing-   1 a composite rolling bearing-   1 b composite rolling bearing-   1 c composite rolling bearing-   1 d composite rolling bearing-   1 e composite rolling bearing-   1 f composite rolling bearing-   2 axis of rotation-   3 bearing flange-   3 a bearing flange-   3 b bearing flange-   3 c bearing flange-   3 d bearing flange-   3 e bearing flange-   4 rolling bearing-   5 rolling bearing-   6 inner ring-   7 inner ring-   7 a inner ring-   7 b inner ring-   7 c inner ring-   7 d inner ring-   7 e inner ring-   7 f inner ring-   8 flange part-   8 a flange part-   8 b flange part-   8 c flange part-   8 d flange part-   8 e flange part-   9 axial stop-   10 surface-   10 d surface-   11 reserve material-   12 material overhang-   12 a material overhang-   12 c material overhang-   12 d material overhang-   13 material overhang-   13 b material overhang-   13 d material overhang-   14 end-   14 a end-   14 b end-   14 e end-   15 recessed formation-   15 a recessed formation-   15 c recessed formation-   15 d recessed formation-   15 e recessed formation-   16 recessed formation-   16 b recessed formation-   16 d recessed formation-   17 end-   17 a end-   17 c end-   17 e end-   18 chamfer-   19 annular groove-   20 roll-forming tool-   20 a roll-forming tool-   20 d roll-forming tool-   21 feed cone-   21 a feed cone-   21 d feed cone-   22 roller-   22 a roller-   22 d roller-   23 holding-down means-   23 a holding-down means-   23 c holding-down means-   23 e holding-down means-   23 f holding-down means-   24 outer circumference-   24 f outer circumference-   25 shoulder-   26 outer circumference-   27 axis of rotation-   27 d axis of rotation-   28 displaced material-   28 a displaced material-   29 wall-   29 c wall-   29 e wall-   30 die-   31 end toothing-   31 a end toothing-   32 recess-   33 overhang-   34 centering chamfer-   35 centering cone-   F axial force-   α angle of inclination

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for producing a composite rollingbearing having a bearing flange and at least one rolling bearing held onthe bearing flange by an inner ring, the method comprising: providingthe inner ring on a portion of the bearing flange; acting on the innerring by a holding-down device of a tool radially holding down the innerring and preloaded against the inner ring by a controlled axial force;and displacing, by way of a feed cone introduced radially on an insideof the bearing flange axially into the bearing flange, a reservematerial at the portion of the bearing flange radially outwardly into arecessed formation in the inner ring, the portion of the bearing flangeincluding an outermost inner diameter and the reserve materialprotruding radially inward from the outermost inner diameter before thedisplacing, the inner ring including an innermost inner diameter andbeing offset radially outward from the innermost inner diameter at therecessed formation before the displacing, wherein the reserve materialincludes a material overhang formed radially on the inside of thebearing flange at an axial distance from one end of the bearing flange,the recessed formation being at an axial distance from one end of theinner ring, the material overhang being displaced into the recessedformation.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the tool includesrollers arranged rotatably on the feed cone, the reserve material beingdisplaced at least partially by the rollers, an initiating of thedisplacing of the reserve material being performed by the rollercontacting the reserve material without contacting the outermost innerdiameter.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2 wherein an angle ofinclination between an axis of rotation of the rollers of the feed coneand an axis of rotation of the composite rolling bearing is set inaccordance with a radial variation in an axial width of the reservematerial.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the holding-downdevice is centered on a centering chamfer provided radially on anoutside of the inner ring.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1 whereinthe holding-down device fits over the inner ring radially on an insideof the inner ring and radially on an outside of the inner ring.
 6. Themethod as recited in claim 1 wherein an annular collar is formed at anend of the bearing flange at an axial distance from an end of the innerring.
 7. The method as recited in claim 6 wherein end toothing isintroduced into the annular collar.
 8. A method for producing acomposite rolling bearing having a bearing flange and at least onerolling bearing held on the bearing flange by an inner ring, the methodcomprising: providing the inner ring on a portion of the bearing flange;acting on the inner ring by a holding-down device of a tool radiallyholding down the inner ring and preloaded against the inner ring by acontrolled axial force; and displacing, by way of a feed cone introducedradially on an inside of the bearing flange axially into the bearingflange, a reserve material at the portion of the bearing flange radiallyoutwardly into a recessed formation in the inner ring, the portion ofthe bearing flange including an outermost inner diameter and the reservematerial protruding radially inward from the outermost inner diameterbefore the displacing, the inner ring including an innermost innerdiameter and being offset radially outward from the innermost innerdiameter at the recessed formation before the displacing, wherein aradially extending wall of the holding-down device and the recessedformation delimit a space receiving the reserve material during thedisplacing.
 9. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein the reservematerial includes a material overhang formed radially on the inside ofthe bearing flange on one end of the bearing flange, the recessedformation being a chamfer radially on an inside of the inner ring on oneend of the inner ring, the material overhang being displaced into thechamfer.
 10. The method as recited in 8 wherein the tool includesrollers arranged rotatably on the feed cone, the reserve material beingdisplaced at least partially by the rollers, an initiating of thedisplacing of the reserve material being performed by the rollercontacting the reserve material without contacting the outermost innerdiameter.
 11. The method as recited in 10 wherein an angle ofinclination between an axis of rotation of the rollers of the feed coneand an axis of rotation of the composite rolling bearing is set inaccordance with a radial variation in an axial width of the reservematerial.
 12. The method as recited in 8 wherein the holding-down deviceis centered on a centering chamfer provided radially on an outside ofthe inner ring.
 13. The method as recited in 8 wherein the holding-downdevice fits over the inner ring radially on an inside of the inner ringand radially on an outside of the inner ring.
 14. The method as recitedin 8 wherein an annular collar is formed at an end of the bearing flangeat an axial distance from an end of the inner ring.
 15. The method asrecited in 14 wherein end toothing is introduced into the annularcollar.
 16. A method for producing a composite rolling bearing having abearing flange and at least one rolling bearing held on the bearingflange by an inner ring, the method comprising: providing the inner ringon a portion of the bearing flange; acting on the inner ring by aholding-down device radially holding down the inner ring and preloadedagainst the inner ring by a controlled axial force; and displacing, byway of a feed cone introduced radially on an inside of the bearingflange axially into the bearing flange, a reserve material at theportion of the bearing flange radially outwardly into a recessedformation in the inner ring, the portion of the bearing flange includingan outermost inner diameter and the reserve material protruding radiallyinward from the outermost inner diameter before the displacing, theinner ring including an innermost inner diameter and being offsetradially outward from the innermost inner diameter at the recessedformation before the displacing, wherein the holding-down device fitsover the inner ring radially on an inside of the inner ring and radiallyon an outside of the inner ring.